Welcome back, K-drama Insiders! 💫

I really wanted to finish My Mister before sending this out so I could tell you how much I loved it.

I highly recommend this K-drama if you are looking for something a little more about “adulting,” raw human emotions and life. If you liked We Are All Trying Here you will probably really enjoy My Mister as they were both written by Park Hae-young and share that deep melancholic DNA.

Can This Love Be Translated, written by Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran, was less melancholic with more energy, but all three explore the idea that life can be hard, we all are a little broken, and healing can happen with the right person.

At its heart, My Mister is about forgiveness, redemption, the sometimes tragic reality of just being human. But it’s also about how becoming vulnerable again can help us heal and, ultimately, find happiness.

The story centers on a young woman with a tragic past who does whatever she can to survive because she’s never had the luxury of trusting anyone except her deaf, immobile grandmother, whom she cares for. She takes a temp job in a large corporation and becomes embroiled in a power struggle between two executives with their own twisted history.

Despite all she goes through, she finds healing through an unexpected friendship with one of her co-workers. I don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling the drama, but it reminded me that love and kindness are not just nouns.  They are actions we can choose to do every day even when the opposite would be easier, and that small acts of kindness can be life-transforming for the person on the receiving end.

To quote the main character’s grandmother, “All relationships are amazing and precious.”

I challenge you to watch it and not cry.

Next on my list? Well, back to Four Hands, Two Sonatas and then The Scandal.

👉 Have suggestions for what I should watch next? Hit reply and let me know.

Catch The Young Opens K-INDIE ON Festival in Berlin
Catch The Young brought Korean indie rock to Berlin as the opening act for the first night of K-INDIE ON Festival 2026 – No Borders, Just RocK! The band performed a 13-song set, including “Amplify” from their first full-length album, EVOLVE, as the festival introduced European audiences to another side of Korea’s music scene beyond K-pop.

And for the Berlin crowd, they added a very fitting surprise: a cover of Nena’s 1983 hit “99 Luftballons.”

👉 Read the full article, see festival highlights and watch Catch The Young’s “99 Luftballons” performance

CNBLUE leader and singer-songwriter Jung Yong-hwa is returning to acting in Oh! My Guard, a new romantic comedy backed by A+E Global Media and Lifetime Korea. Jung has long balanced music and acting, including his memorable role as Kang Shin-woo in the 2009 K-drama You’re Beautiful.

As one of my favorite singers, he’s always on my radar, and I’m looking forward to seeing him back in another drama.

👉 Read more about Oh! My Guard

After nearly a decade away from theatrical features, Squid Game creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk is returning to the big screen with K.O. Club, a near-future sci-fi thriller starring Lee Byung-hun.

The story unfolds in a dystopian future where a small group of older, ultra-wealthy people can buy anything, even youth itself, while keeping a tight grip on their wealth and power. Younger generations are left struggling for a chance to even compete. The title is short for “Killing Oldmen Club,” which gives you a pretty good idea of where the story may be headed! Production is expected to begin in the first half of 2027.

👉 Read More

Four Hands, Two Sonatas remained No. 1 in the latest K-drama buzz rankings with 21.52% Buzz Share, widening its lead over New Recruit 4: Sabotage, which held at No. 2 with 14.59%. Made in Korea 2 stayed at No. 3, while The Scandal made the biggest move of the week, climbing six places to No. 4 following its September 18 premiere.

The performer rankings also reflected The Scandal’s surge, with Son Ye-jin at No. 4, Ji Chang-wook at No. 6 and NANA at No. 9. Lee Jun-young and Song Kang continued to lead the performer chart at Nos. 1 and 2 for Four Hands, Two Sonatas. Flex x Cop 2 re-entered the drama Top 10 at No. 7, while Between Steps made its first appearance at No. 10.

On streaming, The Scandal debuted at No. 7 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English Shows with 1.9 million views, while Four Hands, Two Sonatas ranked No. 10 with 1.4 million. On Prime Video, A Love Other Than Yours climbed to No. 2 among non-English Original Series, while See You at Work Tomorrow! re-entered that ranking at No. 10.

👉 See the full Top 10 rankings, performer buzz, streaming snapshot and this week’s takeaways

The Scandal is generating plenty of conversation for its unusually explicit content, including Ji Chang-wook’s first sex scene. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Ji said he had thought for years about what kind of project might make him willing to take on a scene like that.

“I could do it if it were Cho Won in The Scandal,” he said, adding that working with director Jung Ji-woo helped give him the courage to try it. Ji also described the role as a major challenge at this stage of his career and part of his effort to broaden his range as an actor.

Confirmed Casting

🎬 Netflix’s Outback Finalizes Cast
Ryu Jun-yeol, Jung Ho-yeon, Hong Kyung, Won Ji-an and Justin Min have been confirmed for Netflix’s upcoming mystery thriller Outback. Based on the webtoon G’Day, the story follows a man who travels to Australia after his older sister’s sudden death and begins uncovering suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

🎬 Lim Yoon-a Leads Korean Remake of Unnatural
Lim Yoon-a, known to many K-drama fans from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, has been confirmed to star in the Korean remake of the Japanese medical mystery Unnatural. She will play forensic pathologist Song Do-eun in the 2027 drama, investigating suspicious and unexplained deaths through forensic medicine.

🎬 TWICE’s Dahyun and Cha Woo-min Team Up for New Romance Film
TWICE’s Dahyun and Cha Woo-min have been confirmed as the leads of Clouds Roll Like Gureumi (literal title), a new romance film from King the Land director Im Hyun-wook. The two recently completed a script reading for the project.

Still In Talks

👀 Park Ji-hoon and Kim Si-ah in Talks for Holding Onto the End of This Night
Park Ji-hoon and Kim Si-ah are both reviewing offers for the upcoming romance drama. The story follows a former aspiring pianist who now works as a sanitation worker and a low-level drug dealer whose very different lives eventually intersect.

👀 Hwang Min-hyun in Talks for Iseop’s Romance
Hwang Min-hyun has been offered the male lead role in Iseop’s Romance following Lee Jong-suk’s departure from the project. Both the production company and PLEDIS Entertainment have emphasized that nothing has been confirmed yet.

Dive Into You (September 26 KST and Viki): A fantasy romance starring Kim Ji-yeon (Bona) and Park Seo-ham. After a soul swap involving her twin brother, a top actress travels back in time and tries to prevent the death of her first love.

👉 Are you watching any? Hit reply and let me know!

Mission: Mompossible (September 28 on KBS1 and OnDemandKorea)
Also known as “Mom is Crazy” and starring Jung Min Ah, Dong Ha, Kim Hee Jung, and Kang Kyung Hun, this is a weekday KBS1 family drama about two very different mothers and the intertwined lives of their children.

Boy, With Caution (September 30 on KST, iQIYI, GagaOOLala)
Starring Ryu Se Il, Hah Jung Hoon, a BL romance follows a 32-year-old substitute teacher named Jang Gi-u, whose life is upended by a past school rumor, and a rebellious 21-year-old student, Lee Hyun-jae, who secretly connects with him on an anonymous chat app.

Your Personal Taxi (October 1 on Netflix Globally and FOD in Japan)
A healing music drama starring Cha Tae-hyun, Lee Yeon-hee, Im Se-mi, and Joo Jong-hyuk, centered on a reservation-only taxi whose passengers arrive carrying personal stories and song requests. As the driver listens, each ride becomes a small journey toward comfort and healing. This is a Korean-Japanese co-production.

👉 Want to see what’s coming next?
Browse our full list of upcoming 2026 K-drama premieres.

한가위 is another name for Chuseok, Korea’s autumn harvest holiday. It carries the warm feeling of gathering with family, sharing food and celebrating the season.

즐거운 한가위 보내세요!
Jeulgeoun Hangawi bonaeseyo!

Have a happy Chuseok!

👉 Do you have a favorite K-drama word?

👻 Meet the Ghosts of Korean Folk Village

Korean Folk Village in Yongin has leaned fully into spooky season with its fall ghost festival, Gwisin Saba Gwisin Nori. Visitors can encounter a whole cast of ghosts roaming the village, take part in interactive games and experience a playful take on Korean folklore and ghost stories.

The Korea Herald recently went behind the scenes with the team bringing those characters to life, which makes the whole production even more fun to read about.

📅 Through Nov. 15, 2026
📍 Korean Folk Village, Yongin

👉 Read The Korea Herald’s behind-the-scenes story

The days are getting shorter, the weather is starting to change and October is almost here, which makes it the perfect time for a cozy K-drama weekend. From unpredictable weather and second-chance romance to the warmth of a seaside community, these three dramas have just the right mix of comfort, nostalgia and heart for fall.

👉 Perfect for: Fans of workplace romances, complicated relationships and a little emotional turbulence with their weather forecasts.

Set inside the Korea Meteorological Administration, Forecasting Love and Weather follows forecasters whose personal lives can be every bit as unpredictable as the weather they track. It blends office romance, career pressure and changing relationships with plenty of seasonal atmosphere.

Starring Park Min-young, Song Kang, Yoon Park.

👉 Perfect for: Fans of nostalgic romances, second chances and quietly emotional love stories.

Years after filming a documentary together in high school, two exes are pulled back into each other’s lives when that documentary unexpectedly becomes popular again. Our Beloved Summer is warm, wistful and full of the kind of reflective mood that feels especially right for fall.

Starring Choi Woo-shik, Kim Da-mi, Kim Sung-cheol.

👉 Perfect for: Fans of comforting romances, small-town communities and stories with plenty of heart.

A Seoul dentist moves to a seaside village and quickly finds herself tangled up with the town’s endlessly capable handyman. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha mixes romance, humor and community stories with a cozy atmosphere that makes it an easy fall comfort watch.

Starring Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Sang-yi.

👉 Which drama will you binge next?

From asking What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim to protecting Her Private Life, this actress has been a Healer, survived Forecasting Love and Weather and even decided to Marry My Husband.

What K-drama actor am I?
A. Park Min-young
B. Shin Min-a
C. Kim Ji-won
D. Park Bo-young

💙 Happy Birthday from all of us at Korean Drama Insider!

👉 What did you think of this week’s K-drama updates? Or, what are you watching right now? Hit reply and tell me.

Until next time… 💙
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